Tempting Offer in Irvington, but How Should Village Respond?

By TESSA MELVIN

Published: October 29, 1989

IRVINGTON—
THE village made famous by such l9th-century residents as John Jacob Astor 3d, Louis Comfort Tiffany and its namesake, Washington Irving, has gained a new claim to fame. In the last 10 years, this sleepy Hudson River community has become the fastest-growing village in the county, increasing an average 12.1 percent each year in population.

The stone walls that once marked the borders of vast Irvington estates now separate condominiums from office complexes, as officials try to find ways to preserve what is no longer unlimited open space. A two-year moratorium on development was only recently lifted. A $5.5 Million Asking Price

So it might seem perplexing, at first, that an offer by the owner of a 10.5-acre estate here has not been taken up by the village administration.

More than a year ago, David H. Griffin announced that he would be willing to sell his property to the village for less than the $5.5 million he said he would ask on the open market. Mr. Griffin, president of Griffin International, a soil consolidation and de-watering company headquartered in Yonkers, told officials he was making the offer because he did not want the property developed.

The estate, in the center of the community, is one of the last properties of that size remaining in the village. Its main building is a four-story Bedford Stone house of 23 rooms, built in l938. Many of the rooms have marble fireplaces and intricately carved wooden cabinets. The house was designed by Aymar Embry 2d, who also designed the George Washington Bridge.

The property also includes a barn and carriage house built in the l9th century, as well as the Odell Tavern, originally built in 1693 as a stone tenant farmhouse and part of Philipsburg Manor. The tavern is the oldest surviving structure in Irvington and one of the oldest in Westchester.

Village officials have inspected the property, discussed the offer and expressed enthusiasm for its acquisition. But they have never made an offer to purchase the property, and the reason, they say, is that village taxpayers cannot afford for them to do so.

''It's a fabulous piece of property,'' Mayor John A. Hurson said last week, ''and raising taxes would be the easiest thing to do to get it. But that's not the right thing.'' Acquiring the Murray-Griffin estate, as the property is known (Murray is a historic family name in the village), and adapting it to village needs has been estimated to cost $4 million to $6 million. This about equals Irvington's annual budget of $5 million, Mayor Hurson noted.

Acquisition of the property would provide the village with badly needed new space for a public park, library and municipal offices; the tavern would be converted to create a museum of local history.

But the village's budget has been rising steadily, as have its taxes. The village is in the middle of a major capital-improvement program, Mayor Hurson said, and recently won voter approval for a $5 million bond issue to improve the water-supply system, buy a new firetruck and make other improvements associated with an increasing population.

''Whoever said residential development lowers taxes is absolutely incorrect,'' the Mayor said.

As part of the same $5 million package, the voters also approved a $1.3 million bond issue to acquire a site and build a municipal swimming pool. How the Mayor Sees It

Mayor Hurson said he was unwilling to ask taxpayers for more. ''In 10 years time, we may all kick ourselves if we let this get away from us,'' Mr. Hurson said. ''But what this is going to take is for all of us to come forward with our checkbooks, voluntarily.''

Although the property has been available to the village for two years, its owner, Mr. Griffin, said last week: ''Nobody has ever sat down from the village to discuss the acquisition with me. People keep saying they are interested, but there has been no firm offer.'' Village officials, in fact, have approached him to consider something quite different.

In June, Mr. Griffin said he learned that the village was considering condemning part of his property to build the public swimming pool, a move he called ''unfriendly.'' Mr. Griffin said last week that he continued to be interested in selling the estate to Irvington but added that the property had always been available for lease or sale to anyone who made a firm offer. ''I think it would be in the best interests of the village to acquire it,'' Mr. Griffin said. ''It's one of the last estate areas available in the whole village.''

When Irvington residents learned of the condemnation proposal, they promptly formed a citizens group - the Land and Landmarks Committee - to insure that the entire property was acquired.

''Everyone was very happy the village was going to get the entire property,'' said Barbara Denyer, the chairwoman of the group. She said that residents were shocked in late Juneto learn the village was considering condemning two acres for a public swimming pool.

''People get very upset about condemning land,'' Mrs. Denyer said. ''We got on the phone and called 55 to 60 people for a meeting, and they all came.'' A number of people, Mrs. Denyer said, had not known the entire property was for sale to the village, and so, ''we decided we had to let people know we have a choice.''